Hello again, fellow film travelers!
Monk was originally a lot of fun in it's earlier seasons, but the show ended up breaking three of the most important rules of writing.
1. Be likeable. The big joke with Monk is that he can't stand dogs, friends, vacations, anything. He's always complaining. It's unlikeable. Viewers want heroes to be good, to be kind to others. Where are the big and small gestures of kindness? In one episode they enter a flower shop and of course he hates it. Viewers don't like to root for people who hate everything. If Monk is such a great guy, show it.
2. You can't make boredom interesting. Monk's OCD plays out in overly long scenes. Sometimes it's funny but as the series went on it became repetitive and predictable, and so less funny. Mostly the joke is how Monk is obsessed about something, like counting paper straws, and is wasting the time of the supporting characters, who are bored. In one episode the joke is that Monk hosts a bachelor party but it's lame and everyone's bored. My god! Who's idea was it that viewers want to watch characters deliberately being boring? When Monk wastes the time of other characters on the show, he's wasting the time of the viewer! When he annoys other characters, he's annoying the viewer!
3. Pain isn't funny. There's nothing wrong with a dramedy, a dramatic comedy, but there are bits in Monk such as every OCD scene that are clearly supposed to be comedic, but contain pain, and that's a mismatch. When Bitty Schram would argue with Monk, it was in a comedic way that didn't show pain. You knew that everything was going to be okay. With Natalie, the actress played it straight and earnest, genuinely hurt. When she fought with Monk it was distressing, like watching your parents fight.
In addition, the show never regained the magic after losing Bitty Schram, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, and then let go in a contract dispute. It must have been a bad one, because she never acted again. Some genius writer decided that the replacement, Natalie, would call Monk "Mr. Monk" instead of "Adrian", as though deliberately setting an emotional distance between them. Neither the actor nor the writers ever managed to give Natalie interesting character nuances, or the daughter, who was mysteriously absent in most episodes.
For example, Natalie's reactions to Monk didn't vary; it was always just to chastise him. That does not develop character. With Bitty Schram, she was always going on kooky dates, thinking of ways to make quick money, or having a more fleshed out relationship with her child or ex-husband. Natalie's character never seemed to have a separate personality away from her role supporting Monk.
The backstory with the death of Monk's wife goes nowhere. Even though it's Monk's top goal of the show, the case only develops in 3 episodes of 122 before the series finale. The writers clearly had no idea where it was going. Same with bringing in some of Monk's family as guest stars instead of recurring characters. One episode is not a family.
Finally, kudos to Jason Gray-Stanford, who was the funniest cast member, doing so much with even small scenes. It's a shame that they did not wrap up his character by showing that his "bumbing idiot" persona had at least a hint of genius.
There is much good to say about this show, but I recommend that you watch only the highest rated episodes.
Monk was originally a lot of fun in it's earlier seasons, but the show ended up breaking three of the most important rules of writing.
1. Be likeable. The big joke with Monk is that he can't stand dogs, friends, vacations, anything. He's always complaining. It's unlikeable. Viewers want heroes to be good, to be kind to others. Where are the big and small gestures of kindness? In one episode they enter a flower shop and of course he hates it. Viewers don't like to root for people who hate everything. If Monk is such a great guy, show it.
2. You can't make boredom interesting. Monk's OCD plays out in overly long scenes. Sometimes it's funny but as the series went on it became repetitive and predictable, and so less funny. Mostly the joke is how Monk is obsessed about something, like counting paper straws, and is wasting the time of the supporting characters, who are bored. In one episode the joke is that Monk hosts a bachelor party but it's lame and everyone's bored. My god! Who's idea was it that viewers want to watch characters deliberately being boring? When Monk wastes the time of other characters on the show, he's wasting the time of the viewer! When he annoys other characters, he's annoying the viewer!
3. Pain isn't funny. There's nothing wrong with a dramedy, a dramatic comedy, but there are bits in Monk such as every OCD scene that are clearly supposed to be comedic, but contain pain, and that's a mismatch. When Bitty Schram would argue with Monk, it was in a comedic way that didn't show pain. You knew that everything was going to be okay. With Natalie, the actress played it straight and earnest, genuinely hurt. When she fought with Monk it was distressing, like watching your parents fight.
In addition, the show never regained the magic after losing Bitty Schram, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, and then let go in a contract dispute. It must have been a bad one, because she never acted again. Some genius writer decided that the replacement, Natalie, would call Monk "Mr. Monk" instead of "Adrian", as though deliberately setting an emotional distance between them. Neither the actor nor the writers ever managed to give Natalie interesting character nuances, or the daughter, who was mysteriously absent in most episodes.
For example, Natalie's reactions to Monk didn't vary; it was always just to chastise him. That does not develop character. With Bitty Schram, she was always going on kooky dates, thinking of ways to make quick money, or having a more fleshed out relationship with her child or ex-husband. Natalie's character never seemed to have a separate personality away from her role supporting Monk.
The backstory with the death of Monk's wife goes nowhere. Even though it's Monk's top goal of the show, the case only develops in 3 episodes of 122 before the series finale. The writers clearly had no idea where it was going. Same with bringing in some of Monk's family as guest stars instead of recurring characters. One episode is not a family.
Finally, kudos to Jason Gray-Stanford, who was the funniest cast member, doing so much with even small scenes. It's a shame that they did not wrap up his character by showing that his "bumbing idiot" persona had at least a hint of genius.
There is much good to say about this show, but I recommend that you watch only the highest rated episodes.